Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1887-06-30

der If this chicken Is a hen +? lIumph u
smells rather old--or something but, OF
conrse, it's all ready 10 cook. Now for the
crnsl-ilour aud water aud baking-powder.
They make all kinds of plstry-don't
they ?"
'Yes, yes. That is, think so, ''said sam,
"A little doubtfully. "That is, all the news
Observation-Disclosures say that bakingpow-
der will do anything and Of course 1t will
make pie-crust.
johnson had taken OF his cuffs, and pour
od "A couple of quarts of water into pan
which he stirred thoughtfnlly, and added
several spoonfuls of baking-powder.
"This amount of water will make crust
enough-won't il, Sam 90
"I should say so," returned Sam, mani
pulating his eight" biscuit, the dough of
which was sadly inclined 10 run mp his
arms, under his coat-sleeyes, and two big
dabs Of which were sticking, all unnotice'si
to the legs of his pantaloons.
johnson stirred in the flour rapidly, put
ting in n good deal of muscle, and making
the -four fly right and left His hair and
whiskers and eyebrows were peppered, and,
when he had stirred in all the flour there
was In the house, the mass was still little
thin. by Jove o. said Johson, cycling the
result before him, "therc Is a half bushcl
of it: / never saw so much chicken pie
crust before But this is a large chicken
"A full-grown one-adult, in fact and n
strong one, too, or my nose deceiVes me ;
but guess this crust will hold him. Hold
It open in the middle, Sam, while envelop
bipel in the crust"
The chicken, with his legs and head still
adorning his body, was put into the middle
of the dough, and the covering patted down
Johnson stepped back and eyed the con
struction of his hands critically.
"Sam," said he, 81 think-yes, / am Ger
tain that Anne never cooks them with theil
legs on"
SO they cut off the legs, thrust the mass
into the oven of the stove, put some potatoes
TO boil, opened the draught of the stove
locked the house, and went downtown.
AT three, serenely smiling, our two house
keepers ascended the front steps of the John
son mansion. An odor, infinitely wors'
tlian the atmosphere of any soap-boiling es
tablishmeni, met them as the door opened.
They looked at each other.
"What in the dickens is il ?" they cried
in chorus. and both made for the kitchen.
No wonder there had been smell.
The chicken-pie had burned fast 10 tho
bottom of the oven, and lay there, with the
smoke pouring from il, a blackened mass OF
cinders; and Sans light biscuit had burned
entirely up, and left nothing but the pan,
which had melted down into mass of solid
lin, and run ont ON the floor, which it had
set on fire, and which was smoldering away
threatening every moment TO burst into a
flame. The only wonder was that the house
had not been burned down before they re-
turned.
The tea-kcttle had boiled dry, and crack
ed in two, and everything in the room was
covered with deposit of the very blackes'
glances. But they did not speak. II waa
no time for words.
Johnson seized the duster, and began "a
whisk the SCOT from the furniture, while
sam, with courage which did him credit
proceeded TO take the chicken-pie out of the
oven, by the help of tongS.
Il declare, Johnson" said he, rs he hur-
ried along, with the grease dripping from
his burden and smearing the kitchen-iiooI
from one end 20 the other 81 believe that
the reason the thing smelled so strong was
that we didn't take ont the insides of the
critter."
Jerusalem - said johnson, ''is that so
Well. If that's the case, it's lucky for us
that It burned up"
The two men set 20 work 10 wipe up the
floor, and. while thus engaged, the door-bell
rang.
''You GO said Johnson. 'You amt sc
smutty rs | am
''No, you co. said Brooks. II am 50
hot, shall take cold
While they parleyed, the mmistakable
ciggle of young girls broke on their ears,
and CONSERVATION seized them.
"It's Anne's sister Kate cried Johnson.
"And Mary IIatley, too" cried Brooks.
"And | wouldn't have her see me for all
I'm worth. Great Peter what shall do %
"Kate has got key. She will come in
in spite of us, "cried Johnson. "Anne gave
il TO her. so that she need not wait at the
door. Pcrlition take the girls Why
couldn't they have waited till we'd got
things Strengthened ont ? I'm going to run
for it,
As he finished johnson dove down the
cellarstars, while Brooks followed. Both
men hid behind the coal-hin.
Soon the girls voices were heard in the
kitchen above.
Exclamations, peals of silvery laughter,
rattling of dishes, and melee of sounds
generally. And then the two culprits in
the cellar heard the girls descending the
ccllar-stairs.
''They are hiding somewhere, of course,
said Kate Charley has Dragged so much
of how he could cook, and keep house in
order, that he'd rather die than face us.
And he knows should tell Anne. Good
heavens, what a mess y
The girls came daintily along, holding up
their skirts. Directly Kate got glimpse
of Sans face, smeared with smut, and hair
disorlered She uttered piercing scream.
cts a negro" she cried, seizing Mary
and dragging her back. 'He's rs black rs
the ace Of spades. And such dreadful
countenance. | shall die of fright"
"Two of them" cried Mary, as Sam and
his friend rose from their concealment.
"Heaven help us I'll call the police.
she started to rush mp the stairs, but Sam
Brooks caught her by the skirts and held
her back.
"Do stop, Mary-for heavens sake, stop,
and don't make an alarm. It's only Char
ley and I, and we-we-that is, We've been
doing little cookingand we aint just ready
to see company"
"Oh, Charley, Charley" cried Kate
''what would Anne say if she could see how
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